


Bonded

by TransformersG1fan271



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Animated Series
Genre: Fiction, General, Literature, M/M, Romance, Short Stories, Soulmate AU, prose
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-15
Updated: 2018-04-15
Packaged: 2019-04-23 10:39:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14330682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TransformersG1fan271/pseuds/TransformersG1fan271
Summary: Three men realize they are bonded, despite their shortcomings.





	Bonded

**Author's Note:**

> So I wanted to try my hand at this soulmate thing for a chance, so here we go!
> 
> I don't own my boys --> DC

_A question mark, a top hat, and the face often placed on scarecrow’s._

These symbols had always been on Edward Nigma’s inner forearm. For the longest time the symbols frustrated him, as no one ever had three symbols. Sure, soulmate marks didn’t have any “set” rules, but for most people they had two marks. One for themselves, the other for their soulmate. But to have two? Almost unheard of, something his parents seemed ashamed of, and his classmates wary of the strange boy. The question mark, he came to realize years later, was his. His persona, the Riddler, used it exclusively as he fought the Bat. Having hidden his mark for so long, he had almost forgotten, staring at the mark etched into his skin as he celebrated a successful heist one night. It still escaped him to the two others, the thought fading as he covered it by morning once again. He did not deserve love, he did not deserve his soul mates.

“You have two marks? Hah, what a fucking loser!” Teeth grit against each other as Edward was tossed against an unforgiving stone wall. The Riddler had finally been caught, and the Arkham guards didn’t much appreciate his snide tone. The man had resisted against getting his clothes taken, the resulting struggle having revealed his marks. They laughed and beat him into submission, dragging him past a room filled with other Rogues who watched in interest. His irritation with the guards was interrupted when his arm began to burn, the man gasping in pain as he was tossed into his cell. He couldn’t describe the pain, which faded when he was finally alone. In a room away from him, two others had felt the same burning sensation, and both had completely different opinions about it.

_A question mark, a top hat, and the face often placed on scarecrow’s._

Jervis Tetch had always been a reserved fellow. Growing up in the countryside of England for most of his childhood, he never had much dislike. The marks on his right palm garnered some strange looks, but most found it rather interesting in his quaint village. Even after moving to Gotham to pursue a career as an inventor under the employ of Wayne Enterprises, he never felt any different about his marks. They defined him in a way and would be important to him in a way later in his life. Alice Pleasant then came, and his entire world shattered. For a time, he ignored his marks, for the first time hoping they were fake and that she was his Alice. It wasn’t to be so, feeling empty when he was captured by Batman after his kidnapping. He didn’t even register he was entering Arkham Asylum until an intense burning caused him to cry out. He held his right wrist as the pain seemed to settle into his very being until it stopped, the man staring at his hand in wonder as he was taken to what would now be his cell.

The pain signaled his soulmate, or maybe just one of them, was nearby. Here, in Arkham? The man was stumped, his sadness at losing everything that had being replaced by the curiosity one felt when their soulmate was nearby. Where were they?

_A question mark, a top hat, and the face often placed on scarecrow’s._

Jonathan Crane never, ever expected to find his soulmates. For one, he supposedly had more than one. Why him? He was unattractive, born of parents that didn’t want him, schoolmates that were nothing more than his early test subjects. His yearn to further his education made him forget the trio of marks clustered right over his heart. Despite the gathering of scars over the years, they stood out plain as day, something that did irritate him. For so many years they mocked him, from his days as a psychology professor, to those like the Scarecrow, bringing fear to Gotham City. For a few years he remained as one of the most horrific criminals the city had ever seen, the first of the Rogues Gotham would call their bid of infamy. It wasn’t until a small man who was dragged into the building, the name Mad Hatter making its way around the Asylum, did his marks burn. The book he held fell to the floor, the psychologist gasping for breath at the intense pain he felt. The hat made sense now, Jonathan seeking out the other as soon as he could.

From that day on the two were intertwined, their relationship now questioned by the burning they had felt moments ago. Jervis Tetch was excited by the possibility, knowing that their third member was here and within reach. Jonathan Crane was disgruntled, having enjoyed having Tetch all to himself, and the prospect of sharing was less than ideal. Edward was allowed to mill around with the other inmates a few days later, Jonathan and Jervis cornering him in the rec room almost immediately.

“Show us.” Jonathan demanded, Edward taken aback by the demand as opposed to a greeting. Strangely, he didn’t resist, showing his arm to them after pulling the sleeve up. The two glanced at each other, the shorter man reaching out to allow his fingertips to brush up against the marks. Edward’s arm twitched just for a moment, his other arm reaching for Jervis’s right hand. The other allowed him with a toothy grin, giving a slight chuckle as Edward traced the marks with a look of fascination. He seemed to be younger than Crane and himself, yet his eyes held a maturity that one didn’t see, except in an older person’s like Jonathan. Baby blue eyes glanced to his companion, who’s electric blue eyes seemed to be studying their soulmate with intensity. “March Hare, whatever runs through your mind?” His only response was a thin arm wrapped around his waist, Jervis chuckling as Jonathan and Edward stared at each other. Edward had acidic green eyes, looking almost angry Jervis had been “cut off” from him. Jonathan looked upset that the other had been touching the Englishman, spindly fingers from his free arm adjusting his glasses.

“I don’t like sharing what is mine,” Jonathan began, head slightly cocking to the side as he stared at Edward. “but then again, I suppose I’ll have to make an exception.” Those impossibly green eyes furrowed for a moment, the pause giving Crane to lean closer to the other. Jervis grinned, watching as Jonathan took a kiss from Edward before he could even breathe. Edward made a slightly muffled noise of surprise, arms moving to wrap around the taller males’ shoulders to tug him close. Groans of disgust echoed through the shared room, though they were silenced by Jervis’s stare, transfixed smile seeming cold and deadly if one were to get too close. Jonathan and Edward seemed not to mind, the two focused only on each other as they took over the couch. Edward seemed to be trying to show Jonathan _something_ , the older male only seemed interesting in exploring what Edward had to give him. Jervis watched them with a grin, snarling when the room was emptied as the duo on the couch became a bit too enamored with each other. It was to be expected when a soulmate finally met their other half, or in their case, halves.  
  



End file.
